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Episode 8. Review – XTC – English Settlement

On this episode of lo-fidelity, we conclude this first phase of our XTC extravaganza by reviewing their 1982 double-album English Settlement. Lead songwriter Andy Partridge was growing increasingly tired of the constant pressure on the band and began rebelling against the system that earned them little time to relax and little in their pocket. Armed with a new acoustic guitar, he sought to craft a set of songs that would lead the band in a new “pastoral” direction, seeking to make them difficult to reproduce live, while lyrically tackling topics such as the negative effects of colonialism and the lack of empathy in modern society.